All I Can Offer You
by Offcentre
Summary: Krillin only wants the best for Juuhachi-gou in her time of need, but when does anything ever go right? Brief one-shot 18/K, VERY sappy.


> **ALL I CAN OFFER YOU**
> 
> I couldn't help it; I just *had* to write a sappy one-shot love story for Krillin and Juuhachi-gou. They deserve it. This is the shortest fic I've written and it only took me an hour and a half, but I love it. One-shot K/18 sap.   
"Dragon Ball Z" is © Akira Toriyama.   
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> 
> He cleared his throat, nervously, tenderly; it was such a relief to finally be indoors and away from the torrential rain tyrannising the streets and making the world all the more dangerous for someone as short as he. At such a thought, he scowled down at his pant legs, soaked past the knee from wading through puddles and nearly getting carried downstream towards a storm gutter. Nothing would stop his involuntary shivering, and he could almost feel his bone marrow absorbing the water from his skin like a sponge, weighing him down and guaranteeing that he would be cold for at least eight more hours as he tried to dry off. What an adventure- and all just for some measly groceries. 
> 
> Maybe it would have been worth it had he not lost the groceries during his return home. 
> 
> The cat- well, not much could have been done about that. It had grabbed the loaf of bread he dropped and took off far too quickly even for him, and he really didn't have the energy to go chasing it down in the downpour. He just wanted to get home. The muggers had been something else. Oh, sure, he had put up a good fight- they took off like rats on fire when he fired that first blast of ki- but in the hand to hand combat, the remaining contents of the sopping wet paper sack got smashed, cracked, squashed, exploded, or otherwise mutilated and mangled. All but what he kept hidden under his coat, in hopes it would stay dry. 
> 
> "Krillin? Is that you, dear?" The haunting voice floated down the staircase towards him; for a moment it almost sounded pained. He shuddered at the thought, but he had learned several months back that there was little he could offer to improve her condition (which was, all truths revealed, his fault to begin with), and any attempts to do so only irritated her further. 
> 
> At first he wasn't even certain he should respond. She'd be angry that he didn't have any of the groceries she wanted, angrier still that he was dripping all over their new floor, and was doubtless already furious that it had taken him nearly two hours for one brief jog down to the mini mart. Everyone seemed convinced the storm would never end, and had trampled him in their efforts to stockpile canned goods and batteries and prophylactics. Something told him it would be wise to not tell her about the new rip in his shirt, courtesy his fellow market shoppers, for a couple weeks more. He pulled his jacket tighter around him still. 
> 
> "Krillin?" 
> 
> "Yes, dear, it's me. I'll be up in just a minute," he called. What was he going to do? Going back to the store was out of the question- it was downright suicide; and yet, facing the wrath of a pregnant android was looking less appealing by the second. Perhaps if he just tried explaining, she would understand. 
> 
> Not bloody likely. 
> 
> Gathering the tiniest drop of dignity he still carried with him that day, he placed one foot on the first step leading to the second floor of their new home. It groaned agonisingly under his weight. He swung the other foot onto the step, and tried not to lose his balance when everything in the house went dark. 
> 
> "Power's out," she yelled down to him. 
> 
> He narrowed his eyes and went back down the stairs. "Yes, Juu, I know." Bumping through the hallway, across the kitchen, towards the utility room, and trying not to curse as a flashlight bounced off his head, he dug out some large candles and a charcoal lighter from one of the cabinets. He lit two; set one on the kitchen table, then carried the other with him back towards the staircase. 
> 
> Each stair was one move closer to his impending doom. It would be bad enough to endure her scorning and mocking at his failure to complete this, the simplest of tasks, but the guilt of not completing his duties to his wife was already becoming unbearably weighty in his heart. In all honesty, he still was convinced he didn't deserve anyone so beautiful and so loving as she, and feared that the slightest mess-up would push her out of his life forever. He rubbed at the wedding band on his left ring finger nervously with his thumb, and used his right arm to keep the package in his jacket tucked away. 
> 
> When at last he entered their bedroom on the second floor, he deposited the second candle on her nightstand and hurried away from its brim of illumination to the dark corner by their closet. He peeled away his shoes, noting how badly the leather must surely be ruined, and stared in amazement as a small creek of water gushed from the heel when turned on its side. 
> 
> "Open the window, dear. It's too hot in here." 
> 
> For his own part, he had just moments earlier managed to stop his teeth from chattering, but grinding them determinedly, he muttered a "yes, dear" and rose the windowpane with a disgruntled snap. 
> 
> "Thank you," she breathed. Only at that moment did he notice how feeble her voice truly sounded, how pained she must feel, every single day for the past eight months, and his suffering amounted to nothing more than the puddle of water from his shoes. He rushed to the side of the bed and kneeled down. 
> 
> Almost not finding the courage to voice his concerns, he squeaked out, "Juu-chan, are you okay?" 
> 
> She took his hand and squeezed it firmly. "Yes. I am. I just- Oh, this is all so very strange to me. Darling, I'm scared." 
> 
> "You'll be fine. Android or not, you are a woman, and I know you have the strength for this. Do you have any idea how much your strength inspires me?" 
> 
> As the flame flickered nearby, shadows waltzed across her lips as they curved slowly upwards. "I suppose I don't." 
> 
> "Well, you do," he assured her, then kissed the back of her hand with all the delicacy he could muster. It felt like little more than a healing breeze across her pale skin. "You do." 
> 
> "Thank you." An eerie sullenness came with her voice. "Thank you." She looked into his eyes for a moment. "Did you get my groceries?" 
> 
> He sank to the floor, leaning against the side of the mattress. "No, I did not. I know you're craving a sandwich, and some of those cookies they sell, but I couldn't have given them to you today no matter how badly I wanted to. The world was just against me today, suffice to say." 
> 
> "You're cold," she noted. He nodded solemnly in response. He paused for a moment, but she didn't chastise him for his failure. 
> 
> "I-" He choked up, almost unable to complete the sentence as he pulled his gift out of the folds of his jacket. "I brought you something…" Tears welled in his eyes as the candlelight shone on its remains. "But it's ruined, too. Oh, Dende. I didn't want it to be like this." 
> 
> She swatted at him, trying to grab the object. "Let me see." 
> 
> Burying his face in the palm of one hand, he held his present up with the other- once a bouquet of three red roses and five white carnations was now four tattered stubs, three squashed bulbs, and only one remotely presentable rose. Rain dribbled from the stems onto her sheets as she took it from him and lifted it into the light. "Oh, Krillin," she moaned. "You didn't have to. I… I…" 
> 
> It was her turn to cry in slow sobs. Tears were unfamiliar terrain to her frozen eyes, and she didn't know how to handle them. The best she could ever do was wipe at her eyes and try to ignore the rest, but a strange hiccuping sound always came from her. He shushed her gently and walked to the other side of their bed, tossing his drenched jacket aside. "It's okay, darling. I want you to be happy, I want you to have everything you desire, but I'm afraid that pathetic display is all I can offer you right now." 
> 
> "It's more than enough," she smiled blearily. He crawled beneath the covers and curled up beside her, resting a tender hand on her swollen belly. "For all three of us… it's more than enough." 
> 
> She kissed his forehead lightly after brushing back soft black hair and blew the candle out. 
> 
> ------------   



End file.
